Stokes, Buttler revive England

England's Ben Stokes struck a patient 175-ball 79 in the third Test against West Indies at the Darren Sammy Cricket Ground yesterday. PHOTO: REUTERS

Afp, Gros-islet

Jos Buttler and Ben Stokes featured in England's best partnership of a deeply disappointing series as they lifted their team to 231 for four at stumps on the opening day of the third and final Test against the West Indies on Saturday.

Put in to bat by West Indies stand-in captain Kraigg Brathwaite, and seeking to regain some lost prestige after already surrendering the series and the Wisden Trophy, the fifth-wicket pair played with increasing fluency through an extended final session in putting on 124 runs to the close of play at the Darren Sammy Stadium.

It was England's first century partnership of the series with Buttler getting to 67 and Stokes reaching 62 at the close.

Both made the most of lucky escapes.

Buttler's first scoring shot was an edge off Shannon Gabriel to which a leaping Shimron Hetmyer at second slip could only get his fingertips.

Stokes was caught and bowled on 52 by Alzarri Joseph and was already in the England dressing room when he got the call to return to the middle as the lanky fast bowler had delivered a no-ball.

"We've been disappointed with the way we've played," said Stokes at the end of the day in reflecting on defeats by 381 runs and ten wickets in the first two Tests.

"This is still a challenging wicket so to come off (the field) four wickets down, we're pleased with that."

England's contented mood at the end of the day was in sharp contrast to the situation just three hours earlier as Joe Root's personal tale of batting woe on this disastrous Caribbean campaign continued.

He fell to Joseph for the third consecutive innings just before the tea interval, wafting at an innocuous delivery from Joseph to give a simple catch to wicketkeeper Shane Dowrich.

Root's painstaking innings of 15 off 54 deliveries leaves him with a tally of just 54 runs from five innings, typifying England's desperate struggles with the bat from their first innings of the series when they were routed at Kensington Oval for just 77 on the way to a 381-run mauling.